How To Overcome A Critical Spirit

(Numbers 14:8 NKJV)

God will delight in you. God does love you. God does not walk through eternity critical of His children. If that were so, then the “gift of God” would be an insult. God want to delight in you. He want to help you. But you have to stop thinking that way. Part of the reason many Christians are critical is because they believe God is critical. God is not critical. God is loving. God looks to the good of your life. Yes, there are times when God is sad, and even angry at how we behave. But that does not mean that God hates you and I. God continues to show us, even in this passage, that He loves us and wants to help us. God will delight in you.

4. Teach others to be encouraging.

This is the opposite lesson from this chapter. Miriam was critical on an individual basis, and this led to a whole group of people who were critical of Moses, the mission, and even God. One person, and then eventually 10 people taught other people to be critical. It may have been subtle, but it was taught. The same can be true with us.

The only way we can overcome a critical spirit is to teach others not to be critical. This means that we need to hold our tongues sometimes when we want to say something about someone in public or in groups. We are teaching others when we share our criticisms. We need to stop saying the critical and start talking the encouraging.

Here is my challenge to you: Make it an effort to stop criticizing. Actually count how often you criticize your spouse, your children, your friends, your church, your leaders. You may be surprised to see how often you complain and grumble. Stop it for a week. See how much better your relationships will be because you held your tongue. Then for every time that you wanted to say something negative or critical, speak something encouraging. THAT will not be easy, but it so necessary when trying to love others.